Mangaluru, Feb 27,2017: Expressing displeasure over the alleged inaction of the senior Road Transport Officer in ensuring operation of private city buses during the hartal here on Saturday, district in-charge Minister B. Ramanath Rai said here on Sunday that he will write to the Transport Minister seeking disciplinary action against the officer.
Refuting the allegation, senior RTO Ramesh Vernekar told The Hindu that during the meeting on Friday bus owners had assured of running services on Saturday. But they had made it clear that if buses were stoned, they would stop operations.
When services did not start on Saturday at 6 a.m., he called bus operators and services started. They stopped operations when some buses were stoned, he said.
Dakshina Kannada Bus Owners Association president Aziz Parthpady said that they had to stop the services after three city buses were damaged in stone-throwing. “In the absence of police protection, we cannot operate the services at the risk of injury to drivers and conductors,” he said.
Courtesy: The Hindu